Gigi Withdraws from Sail Race

Due to unusually calm winds, about 90 boats had to withdraw from the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island July 24-27. Race rules mandate finishing the course within a specified time frame.

Among those having to withdraw was Gigi , the J-105 class racing yacht manned by four persons with disabilities and two able-bodied sailors ( See Disabled Sailors Compete , posted July 27 at Hot Off the Press .).

The crew of the Gigi: Front row, from left: Jim Leatherman, Lee Buratti, and Rick Doerr. Back row, from left: Kevin D'Aprile, David Wagner, and Richard Hughes. The Gigi's crew included Rick Doerr, MD, a plastic surgeon and paraplegic; Lee Buratti, a paraplegic; Jim Leatherman, a bilateral above-knee amputee who uses a wheelchair; and Richard Hughes, a below-knee amputee who has competed in a dozen Macs. All four are Paralympians. The two able-bodied sailors were David Wagner, the Gigi's owner, and Kevin D'Aprile.

The Chicago-Mac race is the longest freshwater sailing race in the world--333 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Mackinac Island, Michigan. The 2004 race was the 96th event and included about 3,000 sailors in about 300 boats.

Overall first-to-finish honors went to Genuine Risk , a state-of-the-art Monohull-S owned by Randall Pittman, San Diego, California. Pittman and his crew finished the race in 01:08:56:44.

Because of the handicapping system, winners of the first-to-finish honors are often not the division winners, the Chicago Yacht Club noted. Each division is scored separately, and boats compete only with others in their division.

However, despite this disappointment, the disabled sailors look forward to other races and perhaps to competing again in next years Chicago-Mac.

Gigi Withdraws from Sail Race

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Gigi Withdraws from Sail Race

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